using materials

• how is soda lime glass made?

  sand, sodium carbonate, and limestone are heated
• how is borosilicate glass made?

  sand and boron trioxide are heated
• how are clay ceramics such as bricks and pottery made?


  wet clay is moulded and then placed inside a furnace
• what are composites?


  made up of a matrix of binder material surrounding reinforcement fibres / fragments
• what are 4 examples of composites?

  • fibreglass = used for speedboats
  • concrete = building material
  • carbon fibre = used for racing cars
  • wood = natural composite
• how is LDP made?

  • ethene
  • moderate temperature
  • high pressure
• how is HDP made?

  • ethene
  • lower temperature
  • lower pressure
  • catalyst
• what is a property of LDP?


  flexible
• what is a property of HDP?

  rigid
• what are the intermolecular bonds in thermosoftening polymers?

  weak forces between individual polymer chains
• what are the intermolecular bonds in thermosetting polymers?

  monomers form cross links between polymer chains
• what is a property of thermosoftening polymers?

  can melt
• what are 4 properties of thermosetting polymers?

  • strong
  • hard
  • rigid
  • doesnt melt
• what are 3 examples of alloys that contain copper and what are the uses?

  • gold + silver, copper + zinc -> gold alloys = jewellery
  • copper + zinc -> brass = instruments
  • copper + tin -> bronze = medals
• what are 3 examples of alloys that contain iron and what are the uses?

  • iron + carbon -> low carbon steel = cars
  • iron + carbon -> high carbon steel = bridges
  • iron + carbon, chromium, and nickel -> stainless steel = cutlery
• what is an example of an alloy that contains aluminium and its use?

  aluminium + various other metals -> aluminium alloys = aircraft
• what is corrosion?

  where metals react with substances in their environment and are gradually destroyed
• what is rusting?

  corrosion of iron by water and air
• what are 3 ways to prevent rusting?

  • barrier = painting, greasing, and electroplating iron to keep out water and oxygen
  • sacrificial = attaching a more reactive metal to iron
  • galvanisation = iron is coated with a layer of more reactive zinc
• what are 4 examples humans use natural resources for?

  • fuel
  • clothes
  • shelter
  • food
• what does finite mean?

  will eventually run out
• what are 3 examples of finite resources?

  • nuclear fuel
  • oil
  • coal
• what are renewable resources?

  resources that reform at a similar / faster rate than we use them
• what is a life cycle assessments?

  an assessment of the environmental impact of a product over each stage of its life
• what is the life cycle assessments for a plastic bag?

  • materials = crude oil
  • manufacturing = key compounds extracted by fractional distillation
  • use = reusable
  • disposal = recyclable not biodegradable
• what is the life cycle assessment for a paper bag?

  • material = timber
  • manufacturing = takes a lot of energy to pulp timber and creates lots of waste
  • use = single use
  • disposal = biodegradable and recyclable
• what is selective LCA?

  LCA where some information has been removed to make a product look better than it really is, often to give positive advertising
• what is sustainable development?

  meeting the needs of present society while not damaging the lives of future generations
• what are 3 ways to improve sustainability?

  • reduce amount of raw materials used
  • reuse products instead of throwing away
  • recycling products that cant be reused
• what is phytomining?

  1. soil containing copper
  2. copper builds up in leaves
  3. harvested plants are burned - ash contains copper compounds
  4. displacement reaction with scrap iron
• what is bioleaching?

  1. low grade copper ore and bacteria
  2. bacteria converts copper compounds in ores to soluble copper compounds
  3. leachate solution
  4. pure copper is extracted in electrolysis
• how do you recycle metals?

  waste metal is melted down and can now be recast into new products
• how is glass recycled?

  waste glass is separated by colour and chemical composition and then crushed and melted which can then be reshaped
• what is potable water?

  water that is safe to drink
• what is the source and treatment of ground water?

  • source = underground rocks
  • treatment = filtration and sterilisation
• what is the source and treatment of salt water?

  • source = sea water
  • treatment = desalination
• what is the source and treatment of waste water?

  • source = sewage treatments
  • treatment = requires a lot
• how do you treat ground water?

  1. mesh removes any large debris such as twigs
  2. sand and gravel filtration removes any smaller solid bits
  3. sterilisation kills any harmful bacteria or microbes using chlorine gas, ozone, or uv light
• what are the two methods of desalination?

  • distillation = boiling water to seperate dissolved salts
  • reverse osmosis = passing water through a membrane that only allows water molecules through
• what is the word equation for ammonia?

  nitrogen + hydrogen ->< ammonia